GOP tries to defuse education as issue

WASHINGTON - Gone are the days when Republicans would bash teachers
unions and talk of killing the Department of Education. This campaign
year, the GOP is talking about better teachers, smaller classes,
higher standards and, in the bipartisan budget deal emerging Wednesday
night, more federal money for education.

Polls this election season consistently find that education is
the public's top concern. They also show that, as in the past,
most people prefer Democrats' handling of education.

The Republicans' uphill fight in the public relations wars was
to be underscored Thursday when Hillary Rodham Clinton and top
administration officials open a White House conference on school
safety.

But Republicans have learned a lot since 1996, when they were
perceived by some voters as hostile or indifferent to public education.
Led by GOP governors, they are now speaking more softly about
parents, kids and learning. And many more of them are addressing
the subject.

"You cannot ignore issues that people are talking about,"
GOP pollster Linda DiVall says. Democratic pollster Celinda Lake
predicts "a record number of candidates running on education"
in both parties between now and the elections Nov. 3.

Education is particularly important this year for House candidates
because it is a key issue for female voters. More than two dozen
close contests - and ultimately the majority control of the House
of Representatives - could hinge on whether and how women vote.

The pressure on congressional Republicans intensified recently
when President Clinton revived proposals to spend $1.1 billion
as a down payment on hiring 100,000 new teachers and $5 billion
in tax subsidies for school construction. The latter proposal
faded in the face of adamant GOP opposition. But Republicans did
sign on for $1.1 billion in new education spending after winning
concessions Wednesday that give school districts more flexibility
in using the money.

"We have always been for education," says Rep. John
Linder of Georgia, head of the GOP House campaign committee. "We
just believe it should be controlled at the local level."

Rep. Vic Fazio of California, Democratic Caucus chairman, had
a different explanation: Republicans, he said, are "desperate
not to look anti-education."

In 1996, Republicans made harsh attacks on the National Education
Association. Some regarded these as attacks on teachers, who generally
enjoy community support. Efforts to abolish the Department of
Education also had a negative symbolic impact with some voters.
The party chairman at the time, Haley Barbour, warned after the
election that Republicans would have to communicate better with
voters about education.

Republican governors have done this best. They show themselves
attuned to concerns about standards, class size, teacher quality
and facilities that are crowded or crumbling.

"There is continued evidence that Republican governors have
turned the corner among people most concerned about education,"
GOP pollster Bill McInturff says.

Among people who choose education as the most important issue
facing the nation, 42% said in a McInturff poll in November 1997
that they'd vote for a Democrat for governor; just 28% said they'd
vote Republican. But by July 1998, the Republican candidates for
governor were virtually tied (40%-39%) on this question.

Texas Gov. George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, talk about their
top goal: "making sure all Texas school children are able
to read."

House Republicans are still pushing for federal tuition vouchers
to help parents pay for private school, which Clinton opposes
as a threat to public schools.

But ads for GOP House candidates are adopting some of the governors'
pattern. Freshman Rep. Anne Northup, R-Ky., surrounded by children,
says she founded a bipartisan Reading Caucus. Republican Doug
Ose in northern California says he'll ask Congress to devise "a
national strategy against school violence."